‘Relaxation
rooms work
wonders at
modern spas’
SEE BEAUTY: P15.
RECYCLE THIS COPY. KEEP DUBLIN TIDY.

YOUR COMMUNITY • YOUR PAPER

INSIDE: Mulhuddart
teens put pedal
to the metal P3

May 12, 2011

UNSUNG HEROES: Local nominees

will get the chance to shine: Pages 2&7

Horses for
courses: Certs
at Dunsink
ACTOR Anthony Head, star of

Soccer:
Legends on the
pitch come to
Dublin 15
Page 32

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, took
time out from his busy schedule
to join his wife, Sarah Fisher,
in presenting certificates for
completion of the Stable
and Yard routine course
to several members of the
Dunsink Horse and Pony Club
recently.
Sharon is to pen the story of
Dunsink and its horses in a new
novel.
Full Gallery on Page 10

Council job cuts to
total 300 by 2012
Concern at ‘human
cost’ amidst praise
for tough measures

Q MIMI MURRAY

JOB cuts at Fingal County
Council (FCC) will total 300
by the summer of 2012, the
council confirmed this week.
FCC said that they have
already reduced staff numbers
by 251 since 2008 and added
that they also made a 17%

reduction in annual payroll
costs in the same period, from
€86.3m to €71.6m.
While the majority of local
politicians praised the council
for the cost-saving measures
taken, Socialist Councillor,
Matthew Waine, said there
had been a “human cost”.
He also questioned what

the reduction in staff numbers
would mean in terms of the
delivery of services.
However, Labour Cllr,
Ciaran Byrne, said it was time
to get a “grip” on the economic reality, which “we are being
forced to deal with it by reducing staff”.
Full Story on Page 6

2 BLANCH GAZETTE 12 May 2011

TRAVEL: AREA IS A
‘GREAT DESTINATION’

CAMPAIGN Recognising our local outstanding citizens

Promoting
tourism in
Fingal area
FINGAL Tourism is
“looking forward” to continuing to promote Fingal
as a “great destination for
tourists” as it announces
its new board members.
The Board of Fingal
Tourism recently election its officers for the
coming year, which saw
Tony Lambert, of the
Fingal Dublin Chamber,
re-elected as chairman
and Oisin Geoghegan, of
the Fingal County Enterprise Board, elected vicechairman.
“Fingal Tourism is
looking forward to continuing to promote Fingal as a great destination
for tourists from home
and abroad, as well as
supporting local tourism
initiatives throughout
the region in the year
ahead.
“We are also delighted
to welcome the start of
work on the new worldclass cricket grounds at
Malahide Cricket Club,
which will, in time, create major new tourism
opportunities in Fingal.
For all tourist informa-

CAMPAIGN to give unsung heroes in the community a chance to shine for the work they contribute to
the community has seen 24 people nominated from
across Dublin West and North.
The community initiative, organised by Blanchardstown and Finglas Ford, recognises outstanding citizens
for their work, while giving finalists a chance to win
donations for their preferred charity or cause.
The shortlisted candidates recently enjoyed a gathering
at Blanch Ford, where they enjoyed meeting each other,
and learning about why they had been nominated, with

A

some inspiring personal tales for all to enjoy. Blanchardstown Ford’s Enda O’Connor was very impressed by the
quality of candidates, and said: “I am very proud to be
playing a part in this event, and so hugely impressed by
the candidates on board. During these challenging times,
it is important to support these heroes that are vital to
our sense of community.”
To cast a vote for a favourite unsung hero, see www.
unsunghero.ie. The Top 10 heroes go on to the final on
May 20, where each finalist is guaranteed to win a donation for their preferred community charity or cause.

A group of local teenagers have been reviving a 1970s Fiat 500 ahead of the 10th anniversary of the Mulhuddart Community Project in June

Local teenagers put
pedal to the metal
Q LAURA WEBB

A GROUP of teenagers
are putting the pedal to
the metal in reviving an
old 1970’s Fiat 500, and
are set to display the
finished project at the
10th anniversary of the
Mulhuddart Community
Project this June.
The group of six teens,
between the ages of 14-16
years, have been busy
working on rebuilding
the 70’s Fiat classic with
the help of mechanic
Stuart Walsh, who is now
also a volunteer at the
Mulhuddart Community
Project.
Stuart brought the
idea to the teens, who
were only delighted to
get on board. Ryan Gleeson, Jason Sinnott, Aaron
Thompson, David Plesca,
Liam Joyce and Dylan
Cooper have now been
working with Stuart and
Brian Jennings, a panel
beater, every Wednesday
for two and a half hours
over the past six weeks on
the car, and are continu-

ing to work on it until it is
ready to be displayed.
The teens were also
recognised for their
efforts at a recent ceremony in Draiocht for the
Blanchardstown Youth
Citizen Awards. Here
they were runners-up for
the Fiat 500 project.
Youth Officer at the
Mulhuddart Community
Youth Project, Bernie
Moloney, said the lads
involved are all “really
enjoying it”.
“The young lads have
been working very hard
on it. When they see the
finished project at the
end of it that is when they
will have a real sense of
achievement about it.
When the project came
to them, they were all
really interested in doing
it. They started working
on it on March 30.
“They will display the
car outside the Mulhuddart Community Centre
on June 2 and 3 at the
tenth anniversary of the
Mulhuddart Community
Youth Project. They will

LOCALMATTERS
SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESS

ADVERTISE WITH THE
GAZETTE CALL 60 10 240

also have a stand with
leaflets about road safety
supplied to them from
the RSA. They already
got in touch with the
RSA and have received
the leaflets.
“Last Tuesday night, at
Draiocht in Blanchard-

stown, we had our Blanchardstown Youth Citizen’s Award and they actually came joint runners-up
for the project. They got
a trophy for that,” Bernie
said.
To see the finished
product, and to celebrate

the 10th anniversary of the
Mulhuddart Community
Youth Club, head down to
the community centre on
June 2 and 3.

THE European Ballet will
present a first-class performance of the worldfavourite ballet, Coppelia,
at a Dublin 15 theatre in
the coming weeks.
Draiocht in Blanchardstown will stage the popular show, which is set to
the score of Delibes.
The company features
first-class international
dancers directed by
principal dancer of the
Bolshoi Ballet, Stanislav
Tchassov, earning a reputation for superb classical
ballet performances and
high standard of dancing.

The ballet interweaves
the romance between
Swanhilda and Franz
with the story of the dollmaker Coppelius, whose
greatest desire is to create a doll with a soul. This
show is a total delight
and great entertainment
for all ages.
Coppelia is on at
Draiocht Theatre, Blanchardstown on Sunday,
May 22, at 4pm and 8pm.
Tickets for this event
cost €20 for an adult and
under 16s €14 a family of
four €60.
Log onto www.draiocht.ie or phone 885 2622
to book.

4 BLANCH GAZETTE 12 May 2011

R1

IT’S YOUR STORY Venture group’s activities

JOBS: INDECARE ROW
MAY NOW GO TO THE
APPEALS TRIBUNAL

Workers say
treatment
was ‘unfair’
Q LAURA WEBB

FORMER employees of
a community call service
for elderly people, who
were let go earlier this
year due to a lack of funding, have claimed they
were “unfairly treated”
by the company.
In February, seven paid
employees were told that
the Friendly Call Service,
also known as IndeCare,
was not in a position to
pay them. The service
is still running with the
help of people employed
under the Community
Employment scheme.
The claim has been
denied by the organisation’s CEO, who said the
company had taken legal
advice and could not
comment on the matter.

From mountain climbing to cliff-jumping, Huntstown Venture Group members certainly had a busy, but fun, trip to Scotland recently

Having a bonny time on
a Scottish Highland trip
HUNTSTOWN Venture
Group took advantage
of the Easter break and
headed to the Highlands of Scotland for an
action-packed adventure
camp.
Based in Fort William,
seven of the group took
on the daunting task of
climbing the highest peak

in Britain and Ireland –
Ben Nevis.
Star ting from sea
level, the group set off
in a balmy Scottish 16C,
through the sunshine and
into the clouds, to stand
on a snow-covered peak
at 1,344 metres, four and
a half hours later.
All debutants to the

Scottish mountain range,
they felt a great sense of
pride on reaching the top
and on negotiating the
descent; aided part of the
way by some improvised
snow sleds.
The seven mountaineers were part of a larger
group of 12 Ventures
groups enjoying the
week.
Having conquered
the Scottish giant, they
sought out further adrenaline rushes.
Along the forest canopy, they swung from rope
to rope, tackled cargo
nets and whizzed across
zip lines, with a bird’s-eye
view of the tiny spectators
below.

--------------------------

‘They had a go
at canyoning,
rock-climbing,
plunging into
waterfalls,
sliding through
weirs and cliffjumping’

--------------------------

Not fulfilled, they headed for the white waters of
Inchree Falls to have a
go at some canyoning, a
mixture of rock-climbing,
plunging into waterfalls,
sliding through weirs and
cliff-jumping from 40 feet

into icy black pools – not
for the faint-hearted.
Eager to squeeze one
last activity into the short
week, the group headed
to the foothills of Nevis
range to sample the best
of Scottish mountain bike
trails at the Mountain
Bike World Cup track.
After the series of
action-packed days, the
Venture group headed
south to Glasgow, for a
final day to relax and take
in the sights.
The Huntstown Venture Group meet weekly,
and is open to all young
people aged 15-18.
For further information, contact ventures@
huntstownscouts.ie.

Inaccurate
However, commenting
on a statement issued by
Dublin West TD Joe Higgins, who is supporting
the former staff members,
CEO Danny Bell said it
was “totally inaccurate”.
“We really don’t want
to engage in industrial
relation debate outside
of that body and we certainly are prepared to
use this mechanism to
resolve any situation be it
now or in the future.
He went on to say that
the company is “dependant on voluntary funding
as it is as non-profit service and there just weren’t
any funds to continue”.
When asked if staff
currently working with
the service are being paid
by the company he said
“no”, but said some of
them are on “community
employment, but nobody
is receiving any sort of
wage or salary”.
“We just can’t offer
them employment at this
time,” he said.
Speaking to the
Gazette, Donna Hilliard,
who worked at FCS for
three years, said she left
just before Christmas
when staff were told they
might not get paid for the

month, believing she, and
the other girls forced to
leave in February, have
been unfairly treated.
Her only option now,
she says, is to bring her
case to the Employment
Appeals Tribunal.
“We are trying to put
a little bit of pressure on
the company to do the
right thing. I was working
with them for three years,
others even longer.
“On our contract we
are entitled to statutory
redundancy. I was there
over two years and that is
what I would be entitled
to, but nobody got anything. Some of the other
girls want their jobs back.
We are in no-man’s land,
we don’t know what is
happening,” she said
Supporting the workers, Socialist Party TD
Joe Higgins said the
manner in which the
employees of the service had been treated was
“disgraceful”.
“The dismissed workers believe that the work
they were doing is now
being performed by CE
workers. Most of the
former workers claim
that there are unpaid
wages and holidays due
to them. Those among
them with more than
two years paid service
have not even been told
by the employer of what
redundancy pay arrangements have been made
for them.

Funding
“T his project has
received funding from the
HSE over the years. I will
raise this matter with the
HSE as I believe that, at a
minimum, it should take
responsibility for how
employees are treated in
the projects it funds.
“Finally, my office has
given practical assistance to a number of the
former employees in
making an application to
the Employment Appeals
Tribunal for an unfair dismissals case,” the deputy
said.

LOOKING good in what you wear
is not just about what’s on trend,
but more about what best suits
one’s own individual shape.
And with the help of the Blanchardstown Centre’s own personal stylist, Shirley Lane, a “clever”
shopping experience will see
wardrobes and confidence reap
the benefits.
The style and image consultant
brought her fashion knowledge
to the Blanchardstown Centre in
February, after moving from the
Dundrum Town Centre.
Her business, www.personalstylist.ie, has been reviving women’s
wardrobes across the nation for
over seven years.
Not only has she helped hundreds of women at home, and
in London and Australia, to find
confidence in shopping and what
best to wear, but she also trains
many other stylists.
For Shirley, it’s an “education
process” that teaches people how
to shop to suit their shape, while
getting value for your money and
makes outfits that gather dust in
wardrobes something of the past.

“What we offer is pretty much a
personal stylist service. We feel it is
more of an education process than
just a shopping trip – you are trying
to teach people how to shop.
“Everyone who comes to us,
they don’t particularly love shopping and they go in and out of the
shops in Blanchardstown and they
either buying nothing or something
that is not suited to them.
“We are trying to minimise all of
those mistakes and show people
how to dress, how to come out of
their comfort zone and what shop
works for what figure.

“I don’t focus on trends, so
everything is tailored to the individual. From their body analysis,
style analysis, colour analysis, it
is all very personalised. We don’t
want everyone to look the same. It
is pretty much down to age, size,
lifestyle, budget, and then we dress
them accordingly,” Shirley said.
People of all ages come to see
Shirley, but, at the moment, the
typical age group is between 34-45
looking for day wear.
“We would have a lot of people
looking for day wear and looking
for clothes that are tailored to their

life style.
“They might be running off to
do the school run, going into the
office looking for a promotion or
maybe working three days and are
at home the other days – they are
looking for clothes that are practical with the kids but still wanting to
look well-dressed.
“It’s all about clever shopping
and minimising what you are
spending so that, when you do
spend, you get it right,” she said.
For further information log onto
www.blanchardstowncentre.ie or
www.personalstylist.ie

6 BLANCH GAZETTE 12 May 2011

RI

HOSPITALS Dept of Health ‘not planning any changes’
No moves to cease 24-hour emergency service at Connolly
LAURA WEBB

THE Department of Health has
said it has “no plans” to cease the
24-hour emergency service at Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown.
During an adjournment debate
on emergency department cover at
the hospital, Minister of State in the
Department of Health, Kathleen
Lynch, said the HSE has “no plans
to cease 24-hour emergency department cover at Connolly Hospital”.
Speaking on behalf of Minister
James Reilly, she said: “Of course it
is incumbent on the HSE to make

the best use of available resources in
order to meet the needs of the population served.
“In doing this, it has to consider a
range of factors, including changes
in medical practice and possible
changes in the way that hospitals are
organised and run. However, there
are no plans at this time to change
the current service at Connolly Hospital’s Emergency Department.
“The Minister is committed to
ensuring that acute hospital services
at national, regional and local level
are provided in a clinically appropriate and efficient manner. In par-

ticular, the Minister wants to ensure
that as many services as possible
can be provided safely in smaller,
local hospitals.”
Welcoming the confirmation on
the 24-hour service at Connolly,
Dublin West TD and Minister for
Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo
Varadkar (FG), said: “Minister
Kathleen Lynch told the Dail this
week that the Government is committed to ensuring that appropriate services can safely be provided
in Blanchardstown, including the
emergency department.
“I very much welcome the Minis-

ter’s remarks, and the fact that the
Health Service Executive has no
plans to cease 24 hour emergency
department cover at Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown.
“Minister Lynch also said the
Government will continue to work
with the HSE in order to secure the
best service for patients in Connolly
Hospital and other, similar-sized,
hospitals.
“She said the HSE has launched
a plan to recruit extra junior doctors
to ensure that any shortage of junior
doctors will be addressed, that services are protected, and that patient

safety is maintained.
“I understand that the HSE is currently recruiting medical staff overseas to start work in July of this year,
with a special emphasis on priority
posts. It has also launched a number
of programmes aimed at helping
hospitals like Connolly to meet the
needs of patients in the best possible
way.
“I also welcome Minister Lynch’s
assurances that the Department of
Health will continue to work with
the HSE to secure the best service
for patients Connolly Hospital,”
Minister Varadkar said.

Local orchestra
to play Draiocht
THE Fingal County Youth Orchestra
(FCYO) will perform its
end-of-season concert
on Sunday, May 15, in
Draiocht.
Based in Blanchardstown, the FCYO has 25
senior members and 32
junior members, and they
meet every second Sunday at St Francis Xavier

NS, Castleknock. Members of the orchestra are
aged between eight and
21 years of age.
Tickets for the event
cost €13/€11 and are
available to buy at Draiocht or by booking online at
www.draiocht.ie.
For fur ther information log on to
www.fingalorchestra.ie

Fingal Council jobs
cuts to total 300
MIMI MURRAY
news@gazettegroup.com

STAFF numbers in Fingal County Council
(FCC) are likely to be
reduced by over 300 by
this time next year, it was
revealed at a County
Council meeting this
week.
Council officials said
that they have already
reduced staff numbers
by 251 between 2008
and 2011.
They have made a 17%
reduction in annual pay-

NOTICE
AN CHUIRT DUICHE
THE DISTRICT COURT
DUBLIN METROPOLITAN
DISTRICT
IN THE MATTER OF
AUCTIONEER’S AND
HOUSE AGENTS ACT,
1947-1973
APPLICATION OF PETER
QUINN AUCTIONEER
Application for the renewal
of a Certificate of Qualification to hold an Auctioneers
Licence.
TAKE NOTICE that on
Wednesday the 8th day of June
2011 at 10:30am an Application shall be made to the District Judge sitting at Court No.
23, The Old Records Building,
Four Courts, Dublin 7, for the
renewal of a Certificate of
Qualification to hold an Auctioneers Licence on behalf
of Peter Quinn Auctioneer
whose principal place of
business is at 1 Luttrell Park
Close, Carpenterstown Road,
Castleknock, Dublin 15. Dated
this 11th day of May 2011.
SIGNED: P.J. Walsh & Company . Solicitors, 12 Upper
Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin 2.
TO WHOM IT MAY
CONCERN

roll costs in that same
period, from €86.3m to
€71.6m.
The council saved
€8m in payroll in 2011
and they said they will
save €12.8m by 2014
when off-settable lump
sum payments are disposed of.
T here has been a
€3.5m reduction in
overtime per annum
and €9.6m savings in
non-pay expenditure
for things like plant hire,
fleet management and
energy costs.
Overall, the council
has made €16.5m savings in expenditure over
the last 15 months.
Whilst most of the
elected members praised
the council for the measures taken, the Socialists
berated the report saying that the savings were
made by implementing
cuts.
“The manager outlined
these cuts as if they were
a positive achievement.
There is a human cost,”
Councillor Matthew
Waine said.
“What does it mean
for the delivery of services,” he asked. He also
said he felt the goodwill
and attitude from staff
was “wearing thin.”
However Councillor Waine was shouted
down by many of the
councillors, with Labour
Councillor Ciaran Byrne

Fingal County Council (FCC) says it will reduce staff
numbers by over 300 over the course of the next year

telling him to “get a grip
on economic reality.”
“We have an €18bn
annual shortfall and we
are being forced to deal
with it by reducing staff,”
he said.
Cllr Tom Kelleher said
that FCC was singular by
trying to function on a
far inferior income.
“There has been a new
government in place for
six to eight weeks facing a dreadful situation
which is going to get
worse.
“I’m not sure if any
job is sacrosanct and all
the rhetoric in the world
is not going to fix it. No
organisation is going to
escape,” he said.

The council gave a
breakdown of how the
savings were achieved.
“They said that, as a
result of the moratorium
on recruitment, 251 staff
have not been replaced
since the beginning of
2009.
“These included the
non-filling of 86 vacancies at date of moratorium resulting in savings
of €2.7m and the nonfilling of vacancies arising from termination of
39 temporary contracts,
resulting in savings of
€1.4m per annum.”
Non-filling of vacancies arising from retirement of 126 staff member’s lump sum payments

associated with retirements distort savings in
the short term.
Real savings of
approximately €12m
will be made by the end
of 2014.
By not recruiting 130
temporary summer staff
the council saved €1m
per annum, whilst not
replacing staff on maternity leave resulted in a
saving of €0.6m.
The council did not
fill career-break vacancies and saved €0.2m by
doing so.
M a n a g e r, D av i d
O’Connor, said: “Our
stated objectives at the
time of the adoption of
the annual budget for
2011 were to maintain
current service levels,
deliver quality services at
lowest possible costs and
reduce charges wherever
possible for the business
sector.
“ T h e s e o b j e c t i ve s
have, for the most part,
been realised to date,
though not without considerable effort and work
by staff and their various
representative bodies.
“In this respect I want
to put on the record and
acknowledge the efforts
of staff members for their
collaborative approach
in supporting an unprecedented, concerted and
sustained efficiency drive
over the past two years in
particular.”

12 May 2011 BLANCH GAZETTE 7

COMMUNITY Local charity campaign heating up

Support your Unsung Hero
HELP your local hero
reach the final of the
Unsung Hero Campaign
by giving them your support ahead of the finale
which is fast approaching.
Over the past number
of weeks, heroes have
been nominated and
votes have been coming
in in their thousands,
each person voting for
who they would like to
see in the top 10 during
the final of the campaign.
The Unsung Hero
Campaign hopes to raise
€125,000 for charities.
At the finale, the final
10 heroes will have a
chance to win various
amounts of money to
go to a charity, cause
or organisation of their
choice.
In an attempt to gain
momentum on the hero
poll, the unsung heroes
have advertised as far as
Buckingham Palace.
The techniques used
by these heroes are

wide-ranging, with some
contestants using their
own websites, twitter
and Facebook pages – a
prime example of which
is available at www.facebook.com/finglasfordmotors
Top of the leader board
this week is Fr Dan Joe
(St Frances Hospice), followed by Valerie Murphy
(East Finglas Scouts),
Ellen Cogavin (of Connolly Hospital), Wes
Gill (Order of Malta),
John McGrath (St John’s
Ambulance) and 104/144
Blanchardstown scout
leaders.
The biggest climbers
this last week have been
Brian Flanagan and Seaghan Kearney.
Leading heroes say
that telling people to vote
daily and validate their
vote by email are critical
to campaign success.
As the main event at
Coolmine/Blanchardstow n Ford quickly
approaches, people are

GOT A STORY?
WE WANT TO KNOW!

being urged to vote for
their local heroes.
Proud sponsors of
the unsunghero include
EBay, PayPal, Topaz, Ace
Autobody, Burgess &
Galvin Co, Dunne Engineering and Wiltshire
Farm Foods.
First prize is €10,000,
second is €5,000 and 3rd,
4th, 5th and 6th prizes are
for €2,500. In addition,
top ticket sellers will win
the chance to win the use
of a 15-seater mini bus
for one year, with €5,000
toward running costs.
Tickets are on sale at
just €2 – or six for €10
– at Blanchardstown
Shopping Centre, Charlestown Shopping Centre
and Topaz Petrol Stations
at Coolmine (200 yards
from Blanchardstown
Ford), Hartstown, Huntstown, Castleknock and
Castleknock.
To vo t e , o r f i n d
out more about the
campaign, log onto
www.unsunghero.ie

Call our NEWS TEAM on
60 10 240 or email
news@gazettegroup.com

Aideen and Barry Byrne, with puppy- in-training, Zanna, are just two of the local
people nominated as part of the Unsung Hero charity campaign

TRANSPORT

Autumn
start for
link road
WORK on the construction of the Porterstown
link road is expected to
commence this autumn,
according to Fingal County Council (FCC).
A council spokesperson
said the commencement
date is expected to be
this autumn and that the
tender documents for the
scheme are undergoing “a
final review at present”.
“It is expected that work
would commence on site
in the autumn of this year,”
the spokesperson said.

8 BLANCH GAZETTE 12 May 2011

FASHION Top models from Assets take to the catwalk as

Blanch
goes off
the rails
LANCHARDSTOWN Shopping Centre
teamed up with Assets Modelling Agency
recently to put on a special fashion show,
displaying the best the centre’s fashion stores
have to offer.
Four catwalk shows per day took place
over the May bank holiday weekend, with
former Off The Rails presenter Pamela Flood
doing MC for the proceedings throughout the
weekend. A host of spot prizes were also up for
grabs as part of the event.

B

Former Off The Rails presenter Pamela Flood speaks to Shirley Lane, stylist and personal shopper at Blanch Shopping Centre

Millian, from Assets, in a ‘political’ piece

Assets’ Allison

Former Miss Ireland, Blathnaid McKenna, was one of the
Oyin, from Assets, a denim dream

How to get a-Head
in caring for horses
CTOR Anthony Head took time out from
his busy schedule to join his wife, Sarah
Fisher, to present certificates for completion of the Stable and Yard routine course to
several members of the Dunsink Horse and
Pony Club recently.
Well-known for his work in fighting vampires
and demons, running Britain, and occasionally

A

enjoying a cup of coffee, not many know that
Anthony, and his wife, have a keen interest in
animal welfare. Sharon, a horse and dog-trainer, is to pen the story of Dunsink and its horses
in a novel. The couple were full of praise for the
co-ordinators and members of the horse and
pony club, who had taken part for 14 weeks to
achieve their FETAC Level 4 certificate.

Elaine Hyland, of the Dunsink Horse and Pony Club, with
Graham Murtagh

THE FACTS: CHECK YOUR ANIMAL’S TEETH REGULARLY, AND BE ALERT FOR PROBLEMS

Brush up on
your pet’s
dental care
ID you ever suddenly become
aw a r e o f a n
offending stench,
and wonder where it’s
coming from?
You get yourself to a
quiet corner, and examine your shoes for something messy, or discreetly
raise your arms above
your head to check for
nasty pit stains, and then
realise: “Oh, thank God –
it’s not me who stinks, it’s
my dog’s breath!” Sound
familiar?
Few pet owners make
the effort to educate
themselves in their pet’s
oral hygiene, but did you
know that dental disease
is one of the most common disorders in our
canine companions?
Keeping your pet’s teeth
in check has lots of health
benefits – the obvious
being minty-fresh breath.
Remember, bad breath
in dogs is rarely related to
last night’s rich food!

D

More often, it’s an
indicator of poor dental
health, and/or an infection that needs investigating by your vet.
For example, did you
know that if your cat or
dog suffers an infection
of the gums, teeth or oral
cavity, this can spread via
the bloodstream and into
their heart and liver, and
could cause additional
health problems, such as
kidney failure, endocarditis and abscesses in vital
organs, possibly resulting
in a shortened lifespan?
You didn’t?

Take precautions
Well, now that you do,
it’s time to take precautions.
Brush your pet’s teeth
at home using a special
brush and veterinary
toothpaste, available from
your vet.
Gently introduce your
pet to the new taste by
rubbing some of the tooth-

paste along his gums, and
then repeating the process
with a toothbrush.
Aim the bristles along
the gum line of the upper
back teeth, and angle
them slightly upwards,
making sure the bristles
get right under the gum
line.
Working back to front,
make little circles; as you
would with your own
teeth.
However, remember,
even with the best home
care your pet may still
require some professional dental de-scale and
polish.
*** Feed your pet a
crunchy diet, and appropriate chew treats. It’s
always worth checking
with your vet before you
change your pet’s diet;
especially if the animal
has breed-specific dietary
requirements.
I would recommend
you make these changes
gradually; particularly

Remember – your pets and animals are relying on you to help keep them healthy

with puppies, and always
try one food at a time.
Check your pet’s mouth
regularly, and observe
signs of an inflammation
known as gingivitis. This
can be seen as a reddening of the gums adjacent
to the teeth. It will also
cause bad breath.
Dental disease is not
just a problem for dogs;
other companion animals
– such as cats and rabbits
– suffer, too.
Conditions such as
feline stomatitis – which
is very painful, and can
be life-threatening for
many cats – can occur in
all breeds, and at any age.
***
Cats with this condi-

tion usually experience
inflamed gums which, if
untreated, can spread to
areas at the back of the
throat, making eating and
swallowing difficult.
So, if your cat’s breath
smells, get to the vet
immediately and seek his/
her professional advice on
how best to rectify your
kitty’s condition.
Rabbits can also suffer.
This is usually due to a
bad diet.
You may not know this,
but rabbits need lots of
fibre in their diet; so give
those bunnies plenty of
hay and help keep bad
oral hygiene at bay.
A rabbit’s teeth continuously grow, and must

be checked regularly by
your vet to ensure they are
wearing down properly.
If a rabbit’s teeth are
not kept in check, and go
untreated, the poor creature will not be able to eat
properly, and there is a
danger it could starve to
death.
For those horse owners
reading this, did you know
that a horse’s teeth will
also grow continuously,
so it’s important to keep
an eye on them?
Your vet is the best person to advise you, regarding this, but if you notice
your horse has difficulty
chewing, is dropping
more food than he actually manages to swallow,

and there are signs of
undigested food in his
poo, then it’s likely he may
be suffering from dental
problems, and you need
to seek expert help.
So, you can see why
proper dental care is a
priority for all companion
animals and, as prevention is better than cure,
perhaps the next time
you visit your vet, you’ll
ask his/her advice as to
the best way of examining your pet’s teeth so that
you can keep an eye on
his oral health.
If you’d like more information log onto www.
dspca.ie or email me at
miriam.kerins@dspca.ie.

GOT A STORY?
TELL US ABOUT
YOUR LOCAL EVENT,
CELEBRATION
OR FUNCTION
Call our NEWS TEAM on 60 10 240
or email news@gazettegroup.com

12 May 2011 GAZETTE 13

HEALTH Escaping negativity and unhelpful thinking

Are you a
tonic, or are
you toxic?
Q PATRICIA MURPHY

IT IS amazing how some
people have the ability
to light up a room when
they walk in. Others light
up the room when they
walk out.
We allow other people’s moods and attitudes to have such a
powerful influence over
our personal wellbeing.
Sometimes we join in
with the rise of the happy
tide, and other times we
get pulled down into
negativity and unhelpful
thinking. It pays to ask
ourselves: ‘Am I a tonic,
or am I toxic?’
It is very easy right
now to pick fault with
just about everything.
Nobody we know has
escaped the negative
effects of the struggling
economy and political
change. Nor should we
ignore or deny the issues
that challenge us daily
and which need to be
addressed.
But none of this is an
excuse or a reason to carry
a negative attitude with us
into every interaction we
have, including with our
own selves. After all, we
live with ourselves 24/7.
Left untreated, toxicity
spreads, causing damage
within and without.
What you really need is
a daily tonic. Something
to pep you up physically,
mentally and emotionally. The ingredients are
simple and available to
us all.
Here are some suggestions to help you look
and feel great every day.
Feed Your Body

Paying attention to

W

Mega Mini:
Michael
Moroney
falls in love
with the
Countryman

------------------------------------------------------

‘Left untreated, toxicity spreads,
causing damage within and without.
What you really need is a daily tonic.
Something to pep you up physically,
mentally and emotionally’
------------------------------------------------------

exercise and nutrition is
essential to support the
body.
Food nutrients supply us with the energy to
carry out daily functions,
including the repair and
renewal of organs and
tissues. The increase of
oxygen during modestintensity exercise floods
the cells with vitality and
increases our ability to
get rid of toxins.
It conditions the
heart and lungs and even
makes us smarter. Discipline is the essential
ingredient here. At least
20 minutes of brisk walking, plus three balanced
meals per day, is a must.
No excuses. Remember
to keep it simple and
include 6-8 glasses of
water to keep you floating along.
Personal Care

A simple shower, clean
clothes and a spray of
scent can lift your mood
by tenfold. It also makes
it more pleasant for others to be around you.
Feed Your Mind

Include constructive
thoughts and behaviours towards happiness and health. Step by
step and easy does it. It
is far more effective to
change 100 things by
1%, than to change one
thing by 100%. Smile

and keep your conversations upbeat, even if
you don’t feel like it.
Act as if you mean it
and, pretty soon, you
won’t just be faking it,
you will be making it.
Feed Your Spirit

Immerse yourself in the
fun stuff for a few hours
each week. Hobbies and
recreational activities are
a great way to give you
something to look forward to and a break from
the routine. Socialise
with family, friends and
work colleagues, keeping alcohol within the
weekly recommended
allowance.
Develop an Attitude of
Gratitude

Sometimes we forget just how blessed we
really are. Give thanks
for the big things and little things that make our
lives so special. Acknowledge your achievements,
including your own valuable input into your happiness, health and wellbeing.
These simple lifestyle
changes can have a really
positive influence on
how you look and feel
day in, day out. The best
predictors of your future
happiness and health are
the actions and attitudes
that you are practising
right now.

LOCALMATTERS
SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESS

ADVERTISE WITH THE GAZETTE CALL 60 10 240

Patricia Murphy can help detox mind, body and spirit

SEE MOTORING
PAGE 18

14 GAZETTE 12 May 2011

GazetteBEAUTY
BEAUTY
New face unveiled for Yves
Saint Laurent fragrance
BENJAMIN Millepied,
the French principal
dancer with the New
York City Ballet and choreographer for the recent
blockbuster, Black Swan
has been unveiled as the
face for the next male fragrance from Yves Saint
Laurent, available from
September, 2011.
Described as one of
the most gifted dancers
and choreographers of
his generation, Millepied
enrolled with the New
York School of American Ballet at the age of
16 and became principal dancer at 18 with the
prestigious New York
City Ballet.
On his new role with
YSL Millepied said:
“I’m happy and proud
to have been chosen by
Yves Saint Laurent, one
of the world’s most pres-

tigious brands. I admire
the world of this House,
its elegance and modernity. Monsieur Saint
Laurent was a fashion
genius, a lover of the arts,
he also knew how to use
his talent to serve the art
of dancing.”
Benjamin Millepied
will represent the new
fragrance for men from
Yves Saint Laurent, the
3rd facet of the men’s
olfactive trilogy, alongside Olivier Martinez for
L’Homme and Vincent
Cassel for la Nuit de
L’Homme.

Benjamin Millepied

Edited by Dawn Love

Confessions of a beauty addict
This week the Gazette
chats to media analyst
Kathleen Rowley about
her beauty addiction

MY life-long addiction began when I first
clapped eyes on my glamorous air hostess Aunty
Mary’s bathroom cabinet,
brimming with shiny and
expensive looking tubs of
wonder.
On family trips, I would
gulp down glasses and
glasses of Coke, just so I
could go up and investigate each tub, tube and
bottle, carefully assessing
the smell, texture and colour of each.
Less exotic potions
were to be found at home,
where they were kept out
of reach from my grubby
little hands following an
incident at my weekly

teddy bear’s picnic, where
Big Ted enjoyed a facial,
compliments of Mam’s
new Clarins cream and a
more-then-healthy spritz
of the ever-cherished
Chanel No.5.
Big Ted was eventually
donated to a Children’s
Hospital, where I am
sure he still is reeking of
the classic scent. Mam’s
potions were moved to
the top shelf.
During my teens, a bagpacking job in Superquinn gave me the means
to splurge in the Body
Shop, where body butter and a bottle of white
musk was the ultimate
sign of sophistication.
For teenage discos a
bottle of Exclamation and
a frosted lipstick were my
chosen weapons, as they
were for most of the girls
attending, resulting in the
small community hall

still gives me the shivers
when I get a whiff of it),
I thoroughly enjoyed the
role.
Working for renowned
brands such as Armani, Lancôme and Pout
greatly improved my
knowledge of products
but, even more importantly to a beauty junkie,
my collection of samples
became legendary.
Vichy Essentielles
Kathleen Rowley

practically heaving with
overpowering teenage
fragrances, or maybe it
was just the pheromones
and teenage lust! If it distracted from my heavy
Gallagher-like eyebrows
and braces, I was in –
‘dramatic’ eye shadows
and liners, along with an
over-enthusiastic use of
bronzer was the order of
the day.
Despite a stringent
budget and a barrage
of feminist anti-beauty
industry propaganda,
my love of all things
beauty-related continued

through college.
To fund a trip to the
land down under, I got
a beauty addict’s dream
job, fragrance and cosmetics consultant on
counters in Brown Thomas, Arnotts and Dublin
Airport. I learned about
the construction of a
scent, along with skin
types and the most up-todate make-up trends.
With the exception of
a two-month stint standing freezing at the front
of Brown Thomas spraying Stella McCartney’s
perfume (to this day it

I was astounded at
how this lightweight,
quick-drying lotion kept
my skin soft and moisturised 24 hours after application. With sensitive
skin, this was ideal as the
fragrance
was gentle
and ladylike without irritating my
skin even
after defuzzing
the pins.
Model Inc
Lip and
Cheek tint

At €7.50,
this is the
recessionista’s answer to
Benefit’s Benetint, giving
you a nice burst of raspberry colour. The colour
lasts on the cheeks, but
was a little drying on the
lips and the fragrance
is strong and powdery.
However, for €7.50, it is a
welcome addition to any
hand bag.
Revlon PhotoReady

I’m
a
foundation
slapper. I
have tried
them all,
from Rimmel to Yves
Saint Laurent, and can
safely say I have found my
perfect partner – smooth,
long-lasting and reliable,
this product delivers on
its promises. My skin had
a nice glow with medium
coverage, thanks to the
‘photocromatic pigments’
and it evened out my skin
tone without feeling too
heavy.

12 May 2011 GAZETTE 15

FOOD: NEW BRANDING
FOR BREAKFAST

Relaxation is never too far
away in Ireland’s top spas
Q DAWN LOVE

Radisson Blu Hotel,
Galway

IRELAND is now widely
recognised as one of the
world’s gourmet capitals,
but our luxurious spas
are also making headlines. Set in some of the
country’s most spectacular hotels and resorts, it’s
easy to see why we our
spas are fast becoming
something of a Mecca
for those on the lookout
for top-class beauty and
relaxation treatments.
This week, the Gazette’s
Beauty pages takes a look
at some of the country’s
top spas and the luxurious treatments on offer.

At the Spirit One Spa in
the Radisson Blu Hotel
in Galway, they are
famed for their Elemis
Lime and Ginger Salt
Glow and Cleopatra
Milk Bath.
Scrub up for summer
with their exotic exfoliation ritual designed to
invigorate and revitalise
the body. Elemis exotic
Lime and Ginger Salt
Glow deep cleanses, polishes and softens skin to
perfection.

Druids Glen Resort, Co
Wicklow

Just over half-an-hour
south of Dublin, but an
entire world away, set
between the Wicklow
Mountains and the Irish
Sea, Druids Glen Resort’s
beautifully natural surroundings will have you
feeling calmer before you
even set foot inside.
The atmosphere is one
of calm, suggesting you
take a deep breath and
relax, settling into a place
where you will find your
own personal corner of
pleasure – whether that is
in the lovely spa, the pool,
on the two championship
golf courses, in one of the
bars and restaurants, or
curled into a comfy chair
with a good book by any
of the grand windows
looking out onto the
grounds, and the beauty
of the changing seasons
outside.
For the month of May,
the spa at Druids Glen
Resort is offering an
Advanced Elemis facial,
with a complimentary
back massage, for just
€99.
For more information,
call 01 2870848, or visit
www.druidsglenresort.
com

Tradition
After your body scrub,
soak in the age-old tradition of the Elemis Cleopatra Milk and emerge
drenched in moisture,
scented like a dream.
There is also a full-day
pass to the Thermal
Suite, with full use of the
swimming pool, outdoor
hot tub and jacuzzi.
Price: All for €85 –
normally €140 – save
€55.
For further details
on the range of treatments available call 091
538423
Treatments are available seven days a week.

Hastings Hotels

Spring is nature’s time of
renewal and rebirth and
the perfect time to rejuvenate your body and
soul with a self-indulgent
escape to one of Hastings
Hotels’ fabulous Spas at
Culloden Estate, Belfast,
or Slieve Donard Resort,
Co Down, and experience their world-famous
ESPA treatments and
therapies. To put a little
extra spring in your step,
they are also offering a
£10 voucher off your next
visit!
The Spring Spa Experience includes:
• ESPA Welcome Foot
Ritual
• ESPA Upper Back,
Shoulders and Neck
Massage
• ESPA Boutique Facial
with Indian Head Scalp
Massage
• Delicious light lunch in
the Juice Bar
• Full use of all the spa
facilities
• Use of robe, slippers
and towels
• £10 voucher off your
next spa treatment
Offer available until
May 31, 2011. For more
information, visit www.
hastingshotels.com.

The Relaxation Room at the spa in Druids Glen
Resort’s spa

Rudd’s take
on new look

IRISH breakfast meat
producers, Rudd’s, are
re-launching their traditional Irish brand with a
modern new look, as well
as adding new products
to their portfolio.
The relaunch campaign is part of Rudd’s
new marketing strategy for the brand. John
O’Brien, commercial
manager at Rudd’s said:
“We’re delighted to
announce the relaunch
of our range to include
some popular breakfast
favourites, giving it a
contemporary new look,
while retaining our traditional values.
“We are proud to use
100% Irish pork, sourced
from Bord Bia-approved
Irish farmers to produce

the Rudd’s range, which
now offers all you need
to create the ultimate full
Irish breakfast, while supporting Irish jobs.”
Bill O’Brien, managing director of Rudd’s
said: “We understand the
importance of supporting Irish jobs, therefore
we continue to use only
100% Irish pork to produce our range which, we
firmly believe, has been
the best-kept secret in
breakfast, until now.”
To support the Rudd’s
re launch campaign, a
number of tasting events
will be taking place
throughout Dublin this
month. The tastings will
take place from May
12-14, and again from
May 26-28.

Gazette Group Newspapers Ltd.
Terms and Conditions for acceptance of advertisements
Reserve the right to omit or suspend or alter any advertisement(s) in any of its publications. We also decline any
responsibility in the event of one or more of a series of advertisements being omitted for any reason whatever, nor
do we accept liability for any loss or damage caused by an error or inaccuracy in the printing of any advertisement.
If your advertisement appears incorrectly, contact the Advertising Department immediately, as responsibility cannot
be accepted for more than one week’s incorrect insertion. Responsibility cannot be accepted if the complaint is made
more than two weeks after insertion. If one places an advertisement for more than one week and then cancels it
after the first week, no refund or credit will be given for weeks cancelled. The advertiser undertakes to indemnify the
Proprietors against any liability for any civil action arising out of the publication of the advertisement or any other
matter printed or published in the Blanchardstown Gazette, Castleknock Gazette, Clondalkin Gazette, Dundrum Gazette,
Dun Laoghaire Gazette, Lucan Gazette, Malahide Gazette and Swords Gazette. The placing of an order or contract will be
deemed an acceptance of these conditions.

It’s time to Bloom
BLOOM, Bord Bia’s gardening,
food and family festival returns to
the Phoenix Park this June Bank
Holiday
Ireland’s largest gardening, food
and family festival, Bloom, is set to
celebrate its fifth year when it takes
place this June.
At the heart of Bloom are 27 stunning large, medium and small show
gardens, which will be judged by
international independent judging
panels, and gold, silver gilt, silver and

bronze medals will be awarded.
Dublin will be well represented
at the event, which takes place
between Thursday, June 2 and
Monday, June 6, with a number of
top garden designers creating some
of the stunning show gardens.
Amongst those taking part will
be John Sweeney, from Lusk, and
Rachel Freeman, from the Blanchardstown Institute of Technology.
Meanwhile, from Dalkey, Sheena

Vernon will also be taking part, as
will Brian Cleary, from Dundrum,
and award-winning gardeners Liat
and Oiver Schurman, from the
renowned Mount Venus Nursery.
The event will also showcase the
best of Ireland’s food industry with
the new Bord Bia Food Village.
Bloom is open daily from 10am6pm. Advance tickets are on sale
now from €15 – kids go free! Visit
www.bloominthepark.com.
See feature next week

12 May 2011 GAZETTE 17

18 GAZETTE 12 May 2011

GazetteMOTORS
MOTORS
RoadSigns
Road
Signs
RENAULT VAN
RANGE IS APRIL
BESTSELLER:
RENAULT, Europe’s
best-selling van range,
hit the number one
best-selling spot in
Ireland in April with
14.9% of the overall
market, and featured
on the podium in 14
counties, including
number one in Cork,
Kerry, Westmeath
and Cavan.
With prices starting from just €8,990,
with a five-year,
unlimited mileage
warranty across the
range, it is not surprising that Renault
is performing well
each month. Renault
now has three versions of the Kangoo,
the new Trafic, with
its increased performance 2.0-litre
dCi engine and the
all-new design Master, which comes in
either front- or rearwheel drive specifications and has one of
the lowest running
cost in its segment.

Mini has grown up in size, accessibility and performance in the new Mini Countryman All4, but it’s pricey at €28,980 even though it’s still a great car to drive

Meet the Countryman
MICHAEL MORONEY tested the new Mini Countryman across a range of
conditions, but his heart won out over his head in his love for the new car
INI’S first fourdoor car is the
new Countryman, a car that
has grown up in terms of
size and stature. This is
now the biggest car in the
Mini range, and it brings
a new opportunity to the
BMW-owned brand.
I’ve had the All4, or
four-wheel-drive version
of the car, on the road and
I’m impressed. I know that
the car is expensive for
its size, but it does drive
superbly and retains that
Mini car handling appeal
from the past.
BMW has added lots
of good bits to this new,
bigger Mini. The engine
is a new 1.6-litre BMW
turbo-diesel engine that’s
thrifty and lively. And,
while I know that there’s

a bigger 2.0-litre turbodiesel engine on the way,
I found that the 1.6-litre
engine was more than
adequate and a dream to
drive.
And that was after
almost 1,400km on the
clock, where I drove the
Mini Countryman up

and down the country,
national roads, motorways, and the occasional
boreen were tried to test
the car’s ultimate performance. The All4 system had to be tried and,
luckily, the sun shone for
me and crossing a dry
field was effortless.
The four doors for the
Mini Countryman make
a huge difference in terms
of passenger space and
accessibility. The car now
takes on a new image.
That, coupled with the
larger wheels and Bridgestone Dueller run-flat
tyres for mild, off-road
use, makes the Mini All4
a very versatile car.
The test car had lots of
kit included in the Chili
pack that Mini offers.
This included 17-inch

alloy wheels and lots of
multifunction kit with
an impressive Bluetooth
phone kit that was easy
and clear to use. It also
came with leather seats
and Xenon headlights,
which, in total, rounded
the price up by an extra
€8,000 – now that’s getting expensive.
Power

The engine power was
impressive, with 112bhp
pumped out at ease. On
the motorway, the engine
allowed the car with its
sixth gear to cruise at just
around 2,000 rpm.
That’s what delivers
the good fuel economy
figures. Despite being
a bigger car than the
standard Mini, it’s still
economical. I returned

a figure close to the rated
figure of 20.4 km per litre
of diesel (4.9l/100km),
which I consider to be a
good performance, and
I drove the car long and
hard.
The economy figures
are helped by the stop/
start system that stops
the engine in traffic or at
traffic lights. This, along
with brake regeneration,
gives a measure of the
BMW EfficientDynamics
technology to give good
economy figures from the
Countryman.
The car is rated in
Band B for motor tax purposes, as its CO2 figure is
129g/km. Again, that’s
a reasonable figure and
gives an annual motor tax
charge of just €156.
And, with all that, the

Countryman is lively.
The acceleration pace is
as good as many bigger
cars at 12.9 seconds in
a 0 to 100k/hr race. So,
while it may look like
a hot hatchback car in
design, it does not match
that kind of performance
on the road.
The power is, however,
well-developed for the car
allowing for the 270Nm
of torque, so much so that
the car is well able for all
driving conditions.
The All4 off-road technology will have limited appeal, but it could
have been useful in last
winter’s frost and snow.
It adds about €2,000 to
the price and provides
a compromise of sorts
without opting for a full
heavy-duty 4x4 system.

Motor industry revs to a good start first 3 months of 2011
WITH a 14% increase in sales volume
in first three months of 2011 compared
to the same period in 2010, the motor
industry has claimed pole position across
all retail categories in Ireland to date.
The latest Consumer Market Moni-

tor has reported that the industry has
experienced a major boost as 50,000
new cars have been sold right up to midApril 2011. No doubt the conclusion to
the invaluable scrappage scheme in June
has contributed to the motor industries

excellent start to the year; as has price
discounting from dealers and distributors in order to encourage new car sales.
UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate
Business School and the Marketing
Institute of Ireland (MII) released the

results, which detailed that, apart from
the motor trade, the only other sector
to experience any form of growth in Q1
is clothing, footwear and textiles, which
experienced an increase of 2.6% in volume.

12 May 2011 GAZETTE 19

20 GAZETTE 12 May 2011

GazettePROPERTY
PROPERTY
KILDARE: FULLY RENOVATED AND EXTENDED COTTAGE IN SOUTH NAAS FOR €820,000

Magnificent Mill on market
COONAN Real Estate
Alliance are bringing Mill Cottage, an
unique residence set on
approximately 0.7 acres
of land in South Naas,
Co Kildare, to the market for an asking price
of €820,000.
Surrounded by
mature trees, lawns and
hedges, Mill Cottage is
a 19th-century thatched
cottage, located in the
tranquil country townland of Millicent, only
4km from Naas.
Rescued from dereliction by its current
owners in 2003, Mercury Group Architects
were commissioned
to oversee the extensive conservation and
extension of the cottage

to its present condition,
a process that saw the
renovators incorporating time-honoured traditional working methods and materials.
Extending to 3,300 sq
ft, and featuring modern amenities such as a
geo-thermal heat pump,
under-floor heating and
pressurised hot and
cold water, Mill Cottage
is a magnificent blend
of old world and contemporary living under
one roof.
Located only 25 minutes from the M50, this
is an opportunity of a
lifetime for the right
purchaser.
Presented in pristine
condition and finished
to the highest stand-

ards, Mill Cottage is
an ideal family home
with a range of very
attractive features and
designs.

Listed
Mill Cottage is a listed structure, circa 200
years old, and has been
meticulously restored
and maintained. It features a new oat and
straw thatched roof.
Having been architecturally designed
throughout, it is a bright
and light-filled accomodation with rational
timber windows and
has the latest in energy
saving and eco-friendly
features built in to its
design.
The area around

SHERRY FitzGerald are
presenting No. 37, Eden
Park Drive, Goatstown,
a semi-detached family
home in a highly-sought
after area, close to the
best of schools and within easy access of excellent
local amenities, with an
asking price of €425,000.
Built in the 1950s,
this three-bedroom
semi-detached family
residence has airy, bright
accommodation and a
west-facing rear garden.
The property offers a
spacious interior, including a hall, living room,
dining room, kitchen,
three bedrooms (two
of which are doubles),
bathroom and, outside,
a garage to the side of
the property offering
prospective owners the
potential to convert (subject to planning permission).
Overall, there is a good
internal flow to the lay-

Number 37, Eden Park Drive, in Goatstown

out, providing an excellent balance of well-proportioned living and bedroom accommodation.
The Goatstown area
the property is situated
in is a quiet, leafy enclave,
with both Stillorgan and
Dundrum within walking
distance.
Other amenities
include the popular Dundrum Town Centre, local

shops, UCD Belfield, and
excellent transport links,
including bus routes, Luas
and the M50. There is a
good selection of schools
close by, making this a
desirable family home.
The property also
boasts a large front garden
with central driveway and
lawn on either side with
mature hedging. There is a
private, triangular-shaped,

walled, west-facing rear
garden with mature plants
and shrubs and large side
space and gated side
access, with access to the
garage.
The property can be
viewed by appointment,
which can be arranged
by contacting Shane Desmond at Sherry FitzGerald Dundrum on 01 296
1822.

12 May 2011 GAZETTE 21

GazetteBUSINESS
BUSINESS

Supported by AIB

Interview: Abdur Rahim, owner of Himalaya Tandoori Indian Cuisine

High standards at
Himalayan Tandoori
ABDUR Rahim was born in 1969 in Bangladesh and
went to college from 1988-1992. He then started a job in
Dhaka, which is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city and one of the major cities of South Asia. Two
years later he relocated to South Korea, where he got a
job working in a factory.
While there, he thought of the possibility of working
in a restaurant. He then came to Ireland and his first job
was in an Indian restaurant, Eastern Tandoori, in Deansgrange.
Working there gave him a lot of practical experience.
Abdur took a job as chef and learned how to cook curry.
He then had the opportunity to experience a restaurant
management at Meghna Tandoori Indian Cuisine in Terenure. There he gained more experience and met many
people and learned how to attend to customers. Abdur
found that it is important to serve good-quality food at all
times and to always have the highest of standards.
Abdur then decided to open his own Indian restaurant,
Himalaya Tandoori Indian Cuisine, in Clondalkin. The
restaurant opened in July of 2005. They have a chef menu
and also have good-quality wine. The restaurant offers a
gift card and take-away service, with a 20% discount on
the take-away menu.
He hopes to open more restaurants in other locations
in the future and would like to thank his customers for
their support.
Abdur Rahim

ANSWERS TO
YOUR PERSONAL
FINANCE
QUESTIONS
SHORT TERM DEPOSIT RATES
Q – I have € 70,000 from the sale of my house and am not
rebuying for at least 6 months to a year. Any ideas on
where to put the money to make a gain for this short
period ? I also need it to be safe. Maggie – Wicklow
A - Safety and best rates – they are the two most important
aspects to your query. Safety in that your funds MUST be
guaranteed by the deposit taker to be repaid.
All the Irish deposit takers are currently guaranteed by
Eligible Liability Guarantee Scheme for any amount up to the
end of June this year, with any of the six main Irish deposit
takers ( AIB, Bank of Ireland, Permanent TSB, EBS, Irish
Nationwide and Anglo Irish Bank), while the Deposit Protection Scheme underpins this up to € 100,000 per person once
the deposit taker is regulated by the Financial Regulator. This
includes credit unions. Rabodirect have their own parent’s
protection (Rabo Group – AAA rated, the highest rating a
bank can have), while Nationwide UK and Investec Bank are
guaranteed by the UK Financial Regulatory Authority up to
the equivalent of € 100,000 per person.
The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), who
look after the state savings on behalf of the government,
offer safety and good value but their offerings are more long
term.

Q&A

Take An Post’s Savings Bond – it offers 10% tax free after a
three -year term, which is equivalent to receiving 4.42% each

Q: When you were a kid,
what did you want to be?
A: Businessman

Q: What air carrier do you
use when going on holidays?
A: British Airways

food and drink?
A: Indian curry and I like

do you own?
A: Five

year from a DIRT deducting deposit taker. In emergencies

drink a lot of plain water

Q: What car do you drive?
A: I love to drive my Ford

Q: And your first pay
cheque?
A: Cash

Mondeo

Q: Who would you like to
have dinner with – Brian
O’Driscoll or Brian Cowen?
A: Brian O’Driscoll

Q: How many people do
you have to talk with every
day?
A: Lots of people to talk to
Q: What is the greatest
thrill of your working week?
A: A busy Saturday

Q: Can you swim?
A: Yes
Q: Would you ever bungee
jump?
A: No
Q: Do you play any sport?
A: I love to play football
Q: What is your favourite

Q: How many times each
year do you shop for
clothes?
A: Three
Q: What is the name of your
favourite shop?
A: Debenhams
Q: How many pairs of shoes

you only have to give seven days notice to withdraw from this

Q: When do you wish to
retire?
A: At age 65
Q: What will you do then?
A: Spend time with family
and friends

Best non-NTMA deposit ? 3.5% for three months fixed from
Irish Nationwide Building Society – yields a net 2.555%. On

Well done on selling the house – not an easy achievement in
this economy.

Contact John with your money questions at jlowe@
moneydoctor.ie or visit his website at www.moneydoctor.ie. John Lowe, Fellow of the Institute of Bankers, is
founder and managing director of Money Doctor

Irish company is tackling clutter with their Smart Storage
AN innovative Irish home company is quickly gaining momentum
by eliminating excess clutter from
around the home.
Smart Storage, which makes custom-designed, under-stairs storage
units, which fit seamlessly into the
unused space under any stairwell,
has had fantastic feedback already.
The slide-out units promise to
“stop you tripping over everyday
items such as shoes, toys, sporting

equipment, and even the vacuum
cleaner, and will see an end to the
age-old argument; who causes the
mess in the home?”
Smart Storage provides a range of
Irish manufactured products, which
also includes attic storage, and they
will soon launch in the United Kingdom after 12 months of successful
trading in Ireland.
The under-stairs storage solution
ranges from a single drawer, a large

three-drawer unit to larger units,
depending on available space. The
three-drawer unit, which is the most
popular, is custom designed specifically to fit into all homes. The units
are installed by expert fitters around
the country.
Each drawer is ideal for a variety
of storage options and can accommodate 12 pairs of shoes, three large
school bags, two small suitcases, a
set of golf clubs or several bottles of

wine.
So, if the clutter in your home is
caused by parents or children, the
girls or the boys, Smart Storage has
a common-sense solution.
Founder of Smart Storage, Paul
Jacob, has worked in the construction industry for 20 years and found
new ways to diversify within his area
of expertise.
“Smart Storage enables people to
maximise storage within the home

by utilising the unused space underneath the stairs to clear away clutter,”
he said.
The process for installation is simple and involves submitting rough
measurements of the area under the
stairs to the Smart Storage website,
www.smartstorage.ie.
For further information on Smart
Storage, or to receive a quote, visit
www.smartstorage.ie or call (01) 201
7676.

22 GAZETTE 12 May 2011

GazetteTTRAVEL
FastTravel

Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock

With fabulous beaches and
historical sites, Israel has
something for everyone
FROM the Judean desert and the saltiest sea
on earth, the Dead Sea, to ancient biblical cities, covered markets and a high-rise metropolis,
Israel is truly a destination with something for
everyone.
Located in Western Asia, on the eastern shore
of the Mediterranean Sea, Israel’s temperate
climate, fabulous beaches, archaeological and
historical sites, and unique geography make this
country an appealing holiday destination.
Explore the amazing cities of Jerusalem and Tel
Aviv, by combining an eight- or nine-night stay in
both cities, with Concorde Travel.

SPRING and summer
is a great time to visit
Scotland, when the days
stretch out and the first
blooms and wildlife
appear across the gardens
and in the countryside.
What better way to discover some of the surprising things Scotland has to
offer than by car.
So, whether you’re into
history or film, or simply
want to enjoy the open
Scottish road, there is
sure to be a road trip to
suit you.
VisitScotland has put
together some of the
most unusual road trips
Scotland has to offer.
Visit www.visitscotland.
com/surprise for further
information and the bestvalue travel deals.

Ayrshire lies in the
south-west of Scotland
and is home to some of
the most beautiful sights
in Britain. A must for
any trip to this part of
the world is the Electric
Brae in Ayrshire. The
Electric Brae is a quarterof-a-mile long hill where
cars appear to be drawn
uphill by some mysterious attraction.
The significant thing
about this unusual phenomenon is that it is not
what is commonly called
a mirage, which is created
by the way in which light

Israel (Jerusalem and Tel Aviv or pilgrimage) - only three departures October 12, eight
nights

rays reach the eye. It is
more of a Trompe L’Oeil,
where the eye is fooled by
the way in which things
actually look.
While in Ayrshire,
be sure to take a trip to
town of Newmilns. This
town has been thrust
into the Hollywood spotlight, thanks to its famous
mill – Morton, Young &
Borland Mill, which is
currently providing lace
and fabrics for the hit
HBO show, Boardwalk
Empire.
Film location road trip:
Edinburgh - Inverness

If one person likes history and the other is a
movie buff, for a road trip
with a difference, why
not combine both on a

Start out in Edinburgh
and pay a visit to Rosslyn’s Chapel, which was
used as location for Dan
Brown’s, The Da Vinci
Code, before making
your way to Edinburgh’s
Old Town, which was the
backdrop for Chariots of
Fire and Mary Reilly, featuring Julia Roberts, and
Jekyll and Hyde.
Other places to stop
on the way to Inverness
include the Glenfinnan
Viaduct, which featured
in Harry Potter and the
Chamber of Secrets;
Eileen Donan Castle
near Loch Duich, which
was the principal fortress
of Christopher Lambert’s
character in Highlander
and the world-famous
Loch Ness where the film

Lomond is surprisingly
just 90 minutes from
Glasgow and a little more
than an hour from Edinburgh, so this road trip is
perfect for visitors who
want to get out of the city
for the day.
This scenic route has
many surprising sights
and attractions on the
way. Monty Python fans
should make a stop in
Callander, just outside
Stirling, home to Doune
Castle, which was used
in Monty Python’s Holy
Grail. Histor y fans
should then take the A84
and 85 to Killin – via Balguhidder, home to the
grave of Rob Roy – then
follow this scenic section
of loch around to Alexandria. If you have time pop

‘Monty Python fans should make a stop in Callander
just outside Stirling home to Doune Castle, which
was used in Monty Python’s Holy Grail’
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

meandering drive from
Scotland’s historic capital of Edinburgh to Inverness and the heart of Braveheart country. With its
breathtaking scenery and
rich heritage, Scotland
has been the perfect setting for many of Hollywood’s blockbuster films,
such as Harry Potter and
Chariots of Fire.

of the same title starring
Ted Danson was made.
Loch Lomond and the
Trossachs

Writers, artists and
musicians have found
inspiration in the rich
landscapes of Argyll, the
Isles, Loch Lomond, Stirling and the Trossachs
for generations. Loch

over to Stirling and Stirling Castle for views over
the Forth Valley and a
chance to pay homage at
the Wallace Monument.
W hen you finally
reach Loch Lomond and
are looking for a place to
stay, why not spend the
night in a wigwam? There
are several locations to
choose from, including

The spectacular view of

Strathfillan Wigwam Village, which is situated on
a working farm right on
the West Highland Way
(near Loch Lomond)
and has excellent on-site
facilities and lots of farm
animals to see.
Enjoy the open road:
See Scotland by motorbike

For a fun and surprising way to see Scotland
this summer, why not hire
your own personal trike
chauffeur. Trike Tours
Scotland offer one of the
most unusual ways to see
the famously breathtaking scenery Scotland has
on offer.
Trike tours can take
you on trips to the mountains, lochs and glens of
the Highlands via Perthshire, Stirling and the
Trossachs National Park,
Loch Lomond, Inverness
and Mull.
See www.triketoursscotland.com

12 May 2011 BLANCH GAZETTE 23

TravelBriefs

The Balmoral Show, King’s Hall, Belfast

There are plenty of fun things
to do when you take time out to
discover Northern Ireland
STUCK for something to do? If so, the Northern
Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) has put together a
list of exciting things to do in Northern Ireland
during May 9 - 22. For more details on these and
other events, Callsave 1850 230 230, visit Northern Ireland Tourist Board’s Information Office at
Suffolk Street, Dublin 2 or click on www.discovernorthernireland.com/events
• Hidden Treasures Children’s Theatre, Waterside
Theatre, Co Derry, May 8 – 19. A festival featuring the highest quality theatre experiences for
children and their families with local, national
and international acts.

Eilean Donan Castle, which is situated by the picturesque village of Dornie on the main tourist route to the Isle of Skye

• Balmoral Show, King’s Hall, Belfast, May 11 –
13. This show offers an extravaganza of colour,
competition and showmanship, along with daily
displays of pedigree horses, ponies, cattle, sheep,
poultry, pigs and goats.
• Third Annual Maguire History Weekend, Enniskillen Castle Museums, Co Fermanagh, May
13 – 15. This event will explore the aspects of the
Maguire history of Fermanagh.
• An introduction to Basket Making, The Braid
Arts Centre, Ballymena, Co Antrim, May 14.
Participants will be using sorted and soaked
willow to produce baskets and learn new techniques.

A car on a single track road near the ‘Rest And Be
Thankful’ Pass Argyll with Beinn An Lochan in the
distance. Pictures: P.Tomkins/Visitscotland/Scottish Viewpoint

• Wild on Wildlife, Castle Ward, Downpatrick,
Co Down, May 14. Fun-filled activities for all the
family, including mini beast hunts, pond dipping,
wildlife art workshops, speciality foods and craft
stalls.
• International North West 200, Portrush, Portstewart and Coleraine, May 16 – 21. The International North West 200 is a motor cycle road
race held over a nine-mile road circuit. It is a
week-long festival of sport and attracts competitors from all over the world.
• Garden Show Ireland, Hillsborough Castle, Co
Down, May 20 - 22. Advice abounds on how
to make the most of your garden, from rearing
chickens or keeping bees to growing vegetables,
dining in style or even making jewellery out of
flowers and plants you have grown!

The bridge across the River Ayr to the town of Ayr, which is a commercial and
administrative centre on The Firth of Clyde, Ayrshire

Rosslyn Chapel, Roslin, Midlothian, Scotland

24 BLANCH GAZETTE 12 May 2011

GazetteENTERTAINMENT
ENTERTAINMENT
1

GoingOUT
GoingOUT
THE HELIX 01 700 7000

The Chernobyl Children’s Appeal Concert
THIS year marks the ninth year in a row for the concert,
which will see children aged from eight to 18 perform a
wide range of songs in aid of the Chernobyl Children’s
Appeal, with this year’s concert having a special
significance as the world marks the 25th anniversary.
All proceeds will help to support the many children
who continue to suffer ill health. With tickets priced at
€15, the concert starts at 7.30pm on Saturday, May 14 in
The Mahony Hall.

MILL THEATRE 01 296 9340
The Shaughraun

TANEY Drama Society are preparing to bring their
extensive skills to bear on their production of The
Shaughraun, by Dion Boucicault, which is often described
as a touchstone Irish play.
The Society’s players will bring the tale of a wily Sligo
poacher, called Conn, to vivid life, thanks to a large
ensemble, a great set and period-appropriate costumes,
with Victorian melodrama, romantic comedy and more
added to the mix.
The Shaughraun runs nightly at 8pm at the Mill Theatre
from Wednesday, May 18 to Saturday, May 21, with
admission priced €18/€15.

CIVIC THEATRE 01 4627477
The Tinker’s Curse

ANOTHER Irish-set production, The Tinker’s Curse, tells
the story of Rattigan, a Traveller who climbs Croagh
Patrick to do penance for the sins of a lifetime. Along the
way, Rattigan’s relationship with his wife and daughter
come to the fore, as he contemplates what it is to be a
father, a husband, a Traveller, and a penitent ascending
Ireland’s most sacred spot.
Written and performed by Michael Harding, with live
music by Finbar Coady, The Tinker’s Curse runs nightly at
8pm from Thursday, May 12 to Saturday, May 14, with tickets
priced €20/€16 conc, or €10 on Thursday.

DRAIOCHT 01 885 2622

Fingal County Youth Orchestra
FCYO are sure to be a hit when its young – but highlyskilled – members play a wide range of concertos, pop
songs, contemporary pieces and well-known favourites
in this concert, which follows on from their magnificent
performance at the prestigious Festival of Youth
Orchestras at the National Concert Hall recently.
Founded in 1990 and based in Castleknock, the FCYO
members, who range in age from 8 to 18, will delight
audiences with their accomplished playing. Their concert
starts at 8pm on Sunday, May 15 in the Main Auditorium,
with tickets pirced €13/€11 conc.

PAVILION THEATRE 01 231 2929
Young At Heart

HELD as part of Beltaine, the DLR festival that celebrates
older people in the community, a special showing of the
life-affirming documentary movie, Young At Heart, will be
held on Tuesday, May 17, at 7pm.
The smash-hit film follows a group of senior citizens,
who, despite their advancing years, sing their hearts
out with a wide range of classic and contemporary pop
songs, with the bittersweet wisdom of age adding an
extra dimension to some of the songs.
The documentary helps to show
the creativity in older
people, and how staying
active can keep you
young at heart, and
is sure to be a welldeserved hit with
the Pavilion’s
audiences.
The film
tickets are
priced at €5.

EVEN though The
Simpsons long, long ago
turned into a mirthless,
plodding cash cow, I’m
reminded of some of the
many things it got right
along the way.
Who can forget the
regular appearance of
deeply cynical focus
groups, lawyers, accountants or product testers
with clipboards, calculating exactly how to manipulate everyone in Springfield into coughing up for
something useless?
Well, it seems that
those clipboarders went
to Hollywood, and have
had a go at movie-making. With an elephant.
Hot to trot on the
heels of the likes of, err...
Operation Dumbo Drop,
Larger Than Life and,
umm... Dumbo, here
comes another film with
an elephant as a star – for
dumbo here, yours truly,
to review.
But first, back to those

OUR VERDICT:
THE scratching noises that some viewers may hear during the film
are probably from clipboard-wielding focus group managers at the
back, scribbling notes on how well the audience is reacting to each
obvious, manipulative point in this particularly calculated film. Five
minutes with Krusty the Klown suddenly seems preferable. “Mind
you, the elephant is lovely.” (Stick that on yer posters, mate.)

clipboard holders.
I’m presuming that
they, or somebody, somewhere thought: “What
if ... we got Reese Witherspoon, permanently
dolled up to the nines
like she’s in a Max Factor ad; that vampire
guy, Pattinson, who all
the girls ditched for the
hunkier dude in that Twilight sequel, and made
some kind of predictable,
cliche-ridden, forbiddenlove film set in a honeyhued Depression-era circus? With an elephant?”
Bingo. I think I’ve
just described a more
interesting film than this

one, but, with half of my
review – or space – yet to
fill, let’s make a trunk call
to find out some more ...
Thanks to flashbacks,
an old man, Jacob (mostly played by Pattinson, as
his youthful self) recounts
the greatest tale of his life,
back in the Depression,
when his newly-penniless
self hit the road – or, rather, a railway track, aboard
a circus train – for an
exciting adventure that
would make the most of
his veterinary skills.
August, the kindhearted, avuncular circus
owner, is a gentle – oh,
no, silly me, he’s a predict-

ably cold-hearted brute
of a man, who’s married
to the beautiful Marlena
(Witherspoon).
She’s quite a dame,
being able to ride horses,
work with elephants, and
throw lots and lots and
lots of lingering gazes
at the circus’s newest
manure shoveller, who,
naturally, throws lots and
lots and lots of lingering
gazes back, all of which
gets noticed lots and lots
and lots by August.
Send in the elephant!
It turns out that Dumb–
whoops – Rosie the elephant responds very well
to Jacob, who is soon
assigned to train the circus’s new, star attraction,
as well as helping Marlena to work with Rosie.
So, with plenty of gentle patting, ear-tickling,
and soft-spoken words
– and, yes, folks, I mean
Jacob’s elephant-training
skills – the stage is gradually set for a climactic, big
top showstopper.
Now, you don’t sup-

pose that an elephant,
two star-crossed souls,
a jealous husband and a
film finale could lead to a
crazy climax, do you?
Although I was happy
to note Jacob’s methods of
working with big, dumb,
forgetful animals (which
I shall apply forthwith to
Mr Crowley), I can’t say
that I was so happy with
the rest of the film.
Pattinson – not exactly
the most charismatic of
actors, shall we say – fizzles rather than sizzles
opposite Witherspoon, as
both throw their best thousand-yard-stares at each
other, past the audience
and out the door, towards
their pay cheques.
Waltz is so over the top,
one could be forgiven for
looking towards the corner of the screen, in the
expectation of spotting
an old lady playing some
penny-dreadful music
on a piano each time he
appears, cackling.
Two stars. And one’s for
the elephant.

12 May 2011 BLANCH GAZETTE 25

Some feel hacked off with Sony
ADAM MAGUIRE

IN THE past fortnight,
Sony’s Playstation Network – which lets PS3
and PSP users play games
online – was hacked.
T he company has
since taken down the
network, and admitted
that some of its users’
information has been
stolen.
Not only is this a costly disaster for Sony, it is
also a potentially expensive occurrence for anyone who has had their
information swiped.

The hack
According to Sony, at
some stage between the
April 16 and 19, someone gained unauthorised
access to their network,
and their 75 million
users’ data.
They can be sure that

things such as names,
addresses, passwords
and dates of birth were
stolen.
More critical information – such as credit card
details – may also have
been taken, and there are
already reports of more
than 2.2 million account
details being sold online
by hackers.

Those at risk
Anyone who has an
account with Sony’s
Playstation Network
may have had their information stolen.
In other words, if they
have played online with

their PS3 or PSP, they
have given Sony some
personal information.
Naturally, a lot of
those users are young,
and would not have
credit cards – though
they may have used a
relative’s information to
buy something online.
Of course, credit card
details are not the only
thing that is dangerous
to have stolen.
If hackers have a person’s login details and
passwords, they can do
plenty of damage, too.

How to protect
yourself
If you think that you,
or someone in your family, gave information to
the Playstation Network
at any time, there are
some immediate steps
you can take to protect
yourself.

Firstly, make sure that
the password used there
is not the same as the
one used elsewhere. If it
is, change it.
This will ensure that
hackers cannot log in to
the likes of your email
and gain additional
information.
Secondly, ignore any
emails, phone calls or
even letters you might
receive purporting to
be from Sony. They are
a scam.
In fact, you should
be extra vigilant of any
attempts to gain sensitive
information from you in
such a way by anyone.
Lastly, monitor your
credit card to see if anything unusual happens
on it.
If you see anything
odd going on, alert your
bank straight away to
have it stopped.

Garageband for the
iPad
Garageband for the
iPad is an amazingly condensed piece of work that
lets even the most musically-challenged person
build an impressive piece
of music.
Basically a streamlined version of the software that many popular
artists use to record
their music, Garageband
for the iPad lets you build
a song from scratch.
Users can sing into the
iPad’s built-in mic, plug
in a guitar and record
what you play, or use the
on-screen keyboard and
drum-kit to lay down
additional tracks.
There are also built-in
loops that you can sample from and, with the
right tweaking, you can
layer it all together into a
coherent piece of music.

However, even more
However
impressive are the “smart”
instruments, which basically help you to play
chords on the guitar, bass
and piano without needing to know how to do so
in the real world.
Effectively, this app
can do most of the hard
work for you, just like the
expensive software that
chart-topping (and autotuned) artists have been
using for years.
In this regard, Garage-

band strikes the best of
both worlds.
It is easy and fun to
play with, but useful
enough for those wanting
to do something serious.
It just so happens to be a
bargain, too.
Garageband is available from the iPad App
Store for €3.99.
Visit teic.ie for the latest tech news, reviews
and views.

PAINTERS
POLISH PROFESSIONAL
PAINTING AND
DECORATING Best quality.
Free Quotations. No job
too small. Very reasonable
prices. References available
on WWW.MARKCOMPANY.
IE find us on FACEBOOK
Please phone Mark on 0879442445

6 week Sewing Classes on
Dress Making and Home
Furnishings resuming
in September. Half Day
workshops also resuming
in September. Contact us
at www.sewgreat.ie or
www.pressxpress.ie, call 01
8227650 or email info@
sewgreat.ie

GARDENING

BER CERTS If you are selling
or renting a property or have
Grant Approval And require
a BER cert. Please call Tony
on 0866698706 anytime Or
email energyratingstogo@
gmail.com

CLASSES/LEARNING
SEWING CLASSES/
CURTAIN MAKING
Curtain and Roman
Blind making service at
competitive prices. We
reline and re-pleat all
curtains, full selection of
poles and rails available.
Beginners and Improvers

Garden Lighting. All work
Guaranteed. Fully Insured
Member of RECI. Member
of National Guild of Master
Craftsmen. Free Estimates
Grant work undertaken
Ph: 01-2981573
Dave: 087-9911016
Russell: 087-6309354

CRYSTAL ELECTRIC For
All Electrical Work incl.
House Wiring, Immersion
Heaters, Time Clocks,
Showers, Sockets and
Switches, Replacement
Fuseboards, Security and

TILING
KC TILING &
DECORATING
Professional Tiler of 20 years
experience. Reliable and
Trustworthy Specialising in
all aspects of tiling, incluing,
Ceramics, Porcelains,
Marble, Wall tiles and Floor
tiles. Finished to the Highest
standard. Also available for
Painting and Decorating,
Interior and Exterior.
Wallpaper Hanging.
All areas covered, Jobs large
or small. Call Kevin on 0858390313 for a no obligation
quote. References available.

WOR L D C u p h e r o
Kevin O’Brien launched
this year’s Leprechaun
Cup schools’ cricket
competition.
This year’s event will
involve no fewer than 38
Primary Schools from
various parts of Dublin
and surrounding counties.
Leinster Cricket have
announced that Precision Electric have
become the new spon-

sors of this tournament,
that will again reach out
to hundreds of young
cricketers in Dublin,
Kildare and Wicklow.
Managing director,
Karl Reid, is thrilled to
be involved with Leinster ’s youth cricket
programme: “We are
delighted to be associated with this year’s competition and the whole
concept of introducing
boys and girls to the
game of cricket.
“We will be closely

monitoring the results
and look forward to seeing some of the stars of
the future featuring in
the coming weeks.”
Precision Electric’s
financial contribution
will not only supply
schools with playing
equipment, but will also
help to provide more
coaches for schools in
order to further develop
the game.
Coaches currently
active within schools
include Reinhardt Stry-

Leinster hail the
stars of the year
ISA Nacewa was named the Leinster Players
Player of the Year at the Annual Awards Ball held
in the Burlington Hotel, Dublin last Saturday
night.
Nacewa has been a stand-out performer for
Leinster again this season having featured in all
but one of the province’s games in both the Magners League and Heineken Cup competitions.
Just this week the 28-year-old was also
awarded the IRUPA Player of the Year award and
Coach Joe Schmidt hailed Nacewa’s outstanding
performances over the course of the campaign.
Leinster coach Schmidt was among those to
praise the one-time Fiji international, saying:
“Isa’s durability, commitment, experience and
rugby talent have seen him perform at a consistently high level in every match he’s played this
season.
“As a leader, Isa is recognised by his peers as
one of the benchmark players within the squad.
He is professional in all that he does; his recovery, strength and conditioning work, analysis
of opponents, attention to detail to improve his
own performances. He is utterly committed to
the values of the squad and readily shares his
knowledge and experience with the younger
players.
“Never one to rest easily with personal accolades, I know that Isa will be keen to point out
the efforts of his team-mates this year, but he
should be proud of this recognition.”
Centre Eoin O’Malley, meanwhile, took the
Powerade Young Player of the Year as the Leinster Academy graduate fought off stiff competition for the accolade.
Since overcoming a nightmare spell of injury,
the Belvedere College SJ former Schools Senior
Cup winner has made a positive impact in the
senior panel, and his Heineken Cup debut was
followed by his first Ireland Wolfhounds cap.

Stillorgan were denied victory by a late infringement in their own 22 that sent the Spencer Cup title to Garda

Garda take Spencer
SPENCER CUP FINAL
Garda RFC
Stillorgan RFC

17
15

sport@gazettegroup.com

A PENALTY in the last
minute of the game was
enough to see Garda RFC
overcome the challenge
of Stillorgan to claim the
Spencer Cup and complete a unique league and
cup double for the club.
Ashbrook, the home
of Coolmine RFC, was
the venue for the match,
which saw Garda attempt
to win their first Spencer
Cup crown since 2005.
Indeed it was Garda’s
second visit to Coolmine
in a week, having defeated their hosts 28-17 in the
previous round to set up
the encounter with the
unfamiliar Stillorgan outfit, the teams having never
encountered each other

in league competition.
Garda took to the field
with a changed line-up,
the most notable absentee being influential club
captain Patrick O’Toole.
A penalty inside five
minutes from the boot
of Ben McCarthy (kicking in place of the injured
O’Toole) was the only
action of note in a first
quarter dominated by
handling errors and broken play.
Both teams appeared
to be on edge as they
attempted to find their
feet in the game, but a
breakthrough came in
the 25th minute, when a
perfectly-weighted grubber kick from outhalf
Shane O’Brien saw the
Stillorgan back line take
advantage of a mis-match
on the wing and eventually set up the maul that

led to the first try of the
evening. O’Brien missed
the resulting conversion
from a difficult angle.
Garda edged in front
again within five minutes,
when a high tackle on
centre Enda Muldoon
yielded a penalty on the
Stillorgan 22.
Handling errors again
negated some good possession by Garda and the
Westmanstown men were
lucky not to go in at the
break facing a two-point
deficit, were it not for a
penalty from Stillorgan
centre Conor Brennan
dropping just short from
five metres inside the
Garda half.
The second half began
in the same vein as the
first had finished, dominated by handling errors
and disjointed play.
It wasn’t until ten min-

utes in that the game
finally sprang to life and
lived up the billing which
makes junior rugby as
entertaining as it can be.
Ben McCarthy added
the three points but
Garda were reeled back
to within one point when
centre Kimsah Matangi
was adjudged to have
tackled a Stillorgan player late as he cleared his
lines. The ball landed at
the Garda 22, leaving an
easy penalty for the Bird
Avenue men.
Garda were beginning
to lose their composure
and bad turned to worse
when substitute Damien
Maher was given his
marching orders, his
attempt to ruck the ball
connecting with a Stillorgan player and being
adjudged a stamp.
Garda were clearly rat-

tled and Stillorgan duly
capitalised, mauling the
ball over the line from
the Garda 22 to leave a
six-point margin with just
over ten minutes to go.
With the tie surely slipping away, a great piece
of individual skill from
winger Kevin Dingley,
saw him dance through
the Stillorgan defence for
the touchdown and cut
the deficit to a solitary
point.
McCarthy missed the
conversion from a difficult angle, but, in keeping
with the see-saw nature
of the match, Stillorgan
were dealt the cruellest of
blows when, in the dying
seconds of the game, they
were penalised for offside
directly under their own
posts. McCarthy made no
mistake this time, slotting
over to clinch the title.

12 May 2011 BLANCH GAZETTE 29

in association with

Preparing for
the big tests
STEPHEN FINDLATER talks to mentor and coach,
David Malone, about James Scully, Ireland’s most
promising swimmer, ahead of Paralympics 2012
NAC swim club’s James
Scully was recently
honoured as the Swim
Ireland Disability Swimmer of the Year, capping
a brilliant 2010 with a
fourth-place finish in the
200-metre freestyle final
at the world championships in Eindhoven.
But the young star is
hoping that result is just
a stepping stone en route
to the London Paralympic Games in September,
2012.
For now, though, juggling his high-performance training is sharing
his preoccupation with
his Leaving Certificate,
making for a hectic couple of months.
Soon after Scully completes the State exams,

the 18-year-old will be
straight back into competition, looking to secure a
place for Ireland in the
London Games through
the European championships in Berlin.

ally carded athlete under
the Irish Sports Council
performance grants so,
ultimately, James is preparing for the Leaving but
also, just two weeks after,
he will go to compete at

--------------------------------------------------------

‘We’re coming into the final
bit of the plan. It’s a matter of
getting the Leaving Cert out of
the way, and then the priority
will be London 2012’
--------------------------------------------------------

And club coach, as well
as Irish team manager,
Dave Malone says the
major issue is getting the
balance between the twin
concerns just right.
“He’s an internation-

the European championships in Berlin. That’s
a phase of qualifying for
the London Games in
September 2012.
“He’s risen slowly
through the ranks in the

James Scully receives his Swim Ireland Disability Swimmer of the Year award

past three or four years
to achieving that fourthplace finish in the world
last year.
“Obviously the exams
are incredibly important.
It’s quite a tricky year and
James is at that age where
he has really learned a
lot over the last couple of
years to get to this point.
“He’s been balancing
the time management
around studying and
training to the standard
of a performance athlete.

Balancing act
“For James, it’s about
balancing the books and
getting the rest and recovery in as well and take in
a bit of a social life, too,
to keep the life balance
together.
“It’s difficult to manage but James receives
support from the Irish
Institute of Sport, working with athlete executive, Ken Lynch,” said
Malone
Their plan for this
tricky season has seen
Scully compete closer
to home, more recently
entering the National
long-course championship, held at his home
pool in the NAC.
While the event is an
able-bodied gala, disabled
entrants were allowed
enter, helping get more
experience of a large
meet with high-quality
opposition – something
which is hard to come by
in the current period.
“It was an opportunity
for him to swim in a high-

level event. With the commitments at school this
year, we’ve limited James’
travel exposure to events
around Ireland. He competed in Limerick in February while he was due
to take part in the Welsh
championships, but it was
cancelled because of the
conditions at the times.”
As for the route to London, individual qualifying
proper begins on January
1, 2012 but countries are
currently scrambling to
secure places for themselves, a process which
goes right up to March,
2012.
Next month’s Europeans act as the first
opportunity to gain an
Irish place and Malone
– one of Ireland’s most
decorated Paralympians
and a gold medallist – is
hopeful over his protege’s
chances.
“With James, we’re
happy with the way he
has approached the last
number of months and
kept himself organised.
“He’s very much in line
to qualify. It’s a major
performance meet at the
Europeans but, to an end
of preparing for London,
this is just a stepping
stone.
“We’re right in the
preparation of a four-year
plan but we’re coming
into the final bit of that
plan. James is very much
on track and it’s a matter of getting the Leaving
Cert out of the way and
then the priority will be
London.”

FastSport

Show your allegiance to
Leinster (like the editor)
WITH the last phases of the Magners’ league
and the Heineken Cup final this month, fans
everywhere (including Gazette editor, Cormac
Curtis, pictured above right at the RDS last
week) are going blue with anticipation, and can
now show their support with teamcoloursonline.com.
Team Colour’s range of waterless, press-on
temporary tattoos with Leinster colours and
slogans are now available. Charities, sporting
clubs and schools involved in fundraising can
have tattoos commissioned with their own crest
to either generate profits from sales or simply
raise awareness of their brand.
For more information, see www.teamcoloursonline.com or visit their Facebook page.

Iconic camp
set to take
place in July
BASKETBALL
Ireland have
announced that their
popular basketball
camp, Gormanston
2011, will take place
in the week of July 10
to 15 at Gormanston
College.
The camp will
once again cater for
residential and day
campers and the cost
will remain the same
as in 2010.
The national
basketball camp
is renowned for
delivering only the
best in coaching
with past coaches
hailing from America,
Canada, and Europe,
as well as the best Irish
coaches. Campers
get a rare opportunity
to experience the
valuable knowledge

from some of the best
in the game.
The camp has
become renowned
as the place to be
each summer for
prospective basketball
stars of the future.
Some of Ireland’s
top players have
come through the
ranks at the camp,
and it attracts the best
coaches from home
and abroad.
Past coaches
have included some
of Ireland’s greats,
including Danny
Fulton, Joey Boylan,
and Gerry Fitzpatrick,
along with a medley of
extraordinary coaches
from abroad, such
as Brian Hill, Lazlo
Nemeth and Serge
Clabau.
Attendance costs
€375 for residential
attendees, while daycampers can take part
for €200. For more
information, see www.
basketballireland.com

30 BLANCH GAZETTE 12 May 2011

GazetteSport
Sport
FastSport

Luttrellstown hosting
special Singles’ day

Riding for charity:
Geraghty announces
Blanch Centre event
MEATH jockey Barry Geraghty was on
hand, with Evan Dowling and Kate Fitzgerald, recently to announce that Mulhuddart’s Tech Group Europe has chosen St Michael’s House, one of Ireland’s
largest providers of community-based
services for children and adults with
intellectual disabilities, as their charity
partner. The staff of the company will be
cycling the distance from Malin Head
to Mizen Head, 500 km, on stationary
bikes at the Blanchardstown Shopping
Centre on Friday, May 20.

AUL SUNDAY SENIOR: FOUR POINTS WILL SEAL TITLE FOR CLUB

LUTTRELLSTOWN Castle Golf Club is
hosting an Open Singles Day on Wednesday,
May 18.
The course, which is one of the best inland
courses in Ireland, is in fantastic condition
and will offer a true test of competitors’ golfing ability.
Green fee and competition entry is only
€35, and substantial prizes are on offer.For
more information, and to book tee times,
contact (01) 860 9602.

Kelly one of five
Brigid’s stars
for Jackies
ST BRIGID’S Elaine
Kelly kicked four
points last Saturday
in Parnell Park to
see Dublin return to
the top league tier as
ladies’ football division two champions.
She was joined in
the side by clubmates
Noelle Healy, Ailish McKenna and
Sorcha Furlong while
Colleen Barrett was
on the bench in the
3-15 to 2-9 final victory over Meath.
With the Royal
county the opponents
in the Leinster championship semi-final,
the big victory was a
strong psychological
boost for the Jackies.

Lawrie fails
to bring back
2008 form
PETER Lawrie’s bid

to win back the Open
de Espana title he
won back in 2008
faded late on day
three last weekend,
making for a difficult
final round.
Speaking about
the tournament, the
Castleknock golf
club member said of
the closing round:
“It was not a lack of
motivation but two
early bogeys saw me
slipping even further
back down the leaderboard.
“I did fight back
well playing my last
14 holes in two under
par to finish with a
level 72 but did feel
that I missed out on
something.
“I played a lot of
good golf during the
four days in Barcelona and just felt that
I should have finish
higher than in joint
22nd place.”
He returns to Dublin this week to attend
the birth of his fourth
child with his return
to the European Tour
currently on hold.

FC Blanch will take the title on the back of two wins, which could come as early as this Thursday

FC BLANCH put themselves in pole position
to claim the AUL Sunday Senior league title
in their tenth anniversar y year when they
defeated their nearest
rivals in the division,
C I E R a n c h , 4 -1 i n
Damastown last weekend.
Having suffered only
their second defeat of
the season the previous
week against Dominic
Celtic, and having been
put out the Mullen Cup
1-0 against CIE only

days before, this top-ofthe-table clash took on
extra significance for
the FC Blanch side.
Picking up and showing their bouncebackability was priority, and
manager Dave Meehan
made five changes from
the side who had lost to
Dominic Celtic.
Like the match
against CIE the previous weekend in the
Mullen Cup, FC Blanch
were dominant in possession and in threats
on goal, but could
not turn it into a clear
advantage on the scoreboard.
It was a new team
who came out in the
second half, however,

and FC Blanch put on
a show worthy of league
champions.
Ten minutes into the
second half, they had
taken the lead when
a corner from Danny
Bradley was met by
Michael Mooney’s bullet header at the near
post.

Over the top
Shor tly af ter ward,
from possession in their
own back four, a ball
was played over the top
to Mooney, who entered
a race with the centre
half that Mooney won,
and he put the ball into
the net with a powerful
finish.
With Blanch cruis-

ing at that stage, CIE
changed their formation to 3-5-2. FC kept
faith in their formation,
but changed direction
on how they wanted
to play, intentionally
attempting to turn the
CIE Ranch back three
and making them play
against the run.
T his strateg y paid
dividends and led to
a mix-up in the CIE
defence, and Glenn
Morgan skilfully played
the ball over the centre
back’s head before finishing, giving a threegoal cushion with ten
minutes remaining.
CIE saw their change
in formation result in
a goal when they were

able to capitalise on an
indirect free-kick inside
the FC penalty area,
beating John Hines in
the FC goal.
The last Blanch goal,
though, was the best of
the game.
A move dow n the
right hand side saw Paul
McCullagh jink his way
past two CIE defenders,
and his square ball out
to the left saw Stuart
Beattie’s strike from 25
yards fly into the bottom corner of the net.
Blanch still need a
win and a draw to seal
the title, but their comeback and belief should
see it being a matter of
when, not if, they claim
the league crown.

12 May 2011 BLANCH GAZETTE 31

in association with

SFC: ST BRIGID’S BOUNCE BACK FROM TSS DEFEAT

CLUB NOTICEBOARD
ST BRIGID’S
CONGRATULATIONS to Elaine Kelly,

3.30pm in Porterstown. Many more

Noelle Healy, Ailish McKenna, Sorcha

fixtures on website.

Furlong and Colleen Barrett on the NFL
final victory over Meath.
Paul Winters scored 0-6 for the Dublin minor hurlers win over Wexford.

ST BRIGID’S senior
footballers bounced
back from their SFC
first-round disappointment against Templeogue Synge Street with
a dominant and decisive victory against fellow first-round losers St
Mark’s at O’Toole Park
last week.
W i t h Te m p l e o g u e
shocking the Russell
Park faithful, it was
vital for Mark Byrne’s
charges to make a statement in the championship, before returning to
league action next week
against Ballymun Kickhams.
Byrne’s side are keen
to make their return to
the top flight a productive one, already sitting
in third place in the
league behind St Sylvester’s and Na Fianna.
But their championship campaign is also
vital, and their showing against Mark’s was

the scoreboard for the
entire 35 minutes, and
Declan Lally and Paddy
Andrews registered 0-3
and 1-3 respectively to
show that Brigid’s mean
business in this competition.
Andrews will be disappointed not to have
made more of his contribution, as he hit the
bar with one effort and
drew impressive saves
from Declan Kearns in
the Mark’s goal who
prevented his side going
even further behind.
St Brigid’s will be
keen to see who their
next back-door opponents will be, but Byrne
and the team will be
heartened to see that
their opening tie loss
and league defeat by
Fingal Ravens has not
diminished their hunger
for the fray.

St Peregrine’s
At the same venue,
Stuart Lowndes scored
a penalty in the second
period of extra-time to
put St Brigid’s neighbours, St Peregrine’s,

into the last 16 of the
championship against
St Anne’s.
In a hard-fought battle that saw nothing
between the sides in
regulation time, St Peregrine’s were pegged
back from victory by
a late free that forced
extra time.
David Ly nch and
Shane Sweeney were
solid in defence and
kept Peregrine’s in the
tie in spite of a dominant performance by
the Anne’s forward line,
and the Blakestown
side were relieved when
Lowndes kept his nerve
to net late in the day.
Eight points from
Alan Brogan, four from
frees, were enough to
see St Oliver Plunkett’s
progress to the next
round of the competition as well as they
comfortably saw off the
challenge of Erin’s Isle
at Parnell Park, with
perennial Plunkett’s
playmaker Jason Sherlock adding three ponts
of his own in the 0-17 to
1-7 win.

Club Lotto takes place in Russell
Park this Thursday with a jackpot of
€13,000.
Junior hurlers fundraising Trad/

hurlers face Crumlin away on Satur-

Ballad Night is on May 20 with Celtic

day at 6.15pm. Junior hurlers face Civil

Wings. Tickets are €10 from Tim O’Leary

Service on Saturday at 6.15pm in Rus-

or from any of the Junior hurlers.

on Sunday at 11am in Russell Park.

convincing from the off,
Ken Darcy scoring an
early goal and establishing a lead that was never
relinquished, Darcy
tapping in as Mark’s
defence provided an
interception.
With Philly Ryan dictating the play from corner forward, it seemed
as though this would be
a rout before the first
buzzer sounded, but
Mark’s Barry Redmond
struck past Shane Supple in the Brigid’s goal
to bring matters closer,
finishing an impressive
move that started in
Mark’s half with point
scorer Barry Kennedy,
who provided John
Kelly with the opportunity to split the Brigid’s
defence for Redmond to
score in the corner.
Having come back
from 1-6 to 0-2 to 1-6
to 1-4 at half-time, it
looked as though the
second half would be
another case of nip and
tuck, but what transpired was something
else.
Mark’s did not bother

Kelly on 086-7733.

Thursday at 7.15pm in Belcamp. Senior

sell Park. Junior hurlers face ’Boden

DUBLIN SFC

barrs. Senior 1 and 2 footballers had

aged the Dublin U-14s to Leinster

Mick Cussen who starred for Fingal in

Brigid’s back to
SFC winning ways

Castleknock. Minor hurlers beat Fin-

Well done to Ken Nyhan who man-

Also well done to Aodhan Mc and

St Brigid’s put themselves back in championship contention with a good win over St Mark’s

U-13A and B footballers had good
league wins over St Sylvester’s and

U-16 footballers face Castleknock
in A Shield semi-final on Saturday at

We need your old mobile phones.
To get a second defibrillator, the club
needs 360 old phones. Phone drop-off
inside the bar

ST PEREGRINE’S
VOTE for our very own unsung hero

ship this week at home.

Albert ‘Albie’ Pierson. As we all know,

Well done to the U-16 boys who

Albert is a hero among the club and

have reached the semi-final of the

needs our votes.

Shield after a great win over Pat’s

Please long onto www.unsunghero.
com/ourheroes.

(P); well done to all concerned.
Club lotto was not won; numbers

Another brilliant win for our senior

drawn were 2, 3, 20 and 21. Next

footballers last Saturday evening

week’s jackpot is €3,600. Any mem-

over St Anne’s in SFC. Great league

ber not buying lotto tickets, visit

wins for Junior B and C footballers

CNP.ie and support your club for

this past week.

only €2 a week. Lotto is also avail-

Attention now turns to hurling and
ladies’ football this week; our Senior

able to play on-line using the link on
the club website.

hurlers play Kilmacud Crokes away

Entertainment in clubhouse this

on Saturday in the Inter Hurling

Saturday in club from Smashing

Championship.

Monkeys.

The Juniors play Croabh Chiarain

Club shop is open on Mondays

at home on Sunday. The Senior ladies

Wednesdays and Fridays from 6 to

play their first game in champion-

7pm, and on Saturdays, 10 to 12pm.

ERIN GO BRAGH
THANK-YOU to all who made our
annual street leagues and community festival such a huge success.
A special thanks to Sean Flood who
is still a winner even though he lost
in the over-35s league final.

There was no winner of last week’s
lotto jackpot.
This week’s draw jackpot will be
€11,300.
The draw will be held this Friday in
The Paddocks.

Ricky Villa and Ossie Ardiles, former Argentina and Tottenham heroes, have been signed up to face Huntstown-Hartstown FC

Argentine legends
set for D15 friendly
Ricky Villa and Ossie Ardiles signed up to take on
Hartstown-Hunstown selection in Dalymount Park
STEPHEN FINDLATER
blanchardstownsport@gazettegroup.com

HARTSTOWN-Huntstown United will host
Argentine heroes, Ricky Villa and Ossie Ardiles as
part of a Legends XI selected by John Aldridge to
play an exhibition match in Dalymount Park on
Saturday, May 21 (kick-off, 3pm).
The event is in aid of Irish Autism Action and
Hartstown-Huntstown United FC, with a string of
top names already lined up with a club selection
facing the likes of Aldridge, Jason McAteer, Alan
McLoughlin and Keith Gillespie, as well as a host
of former stars of the top flight in England.
Villa and Ardiles provide incredible star factor,
following their memorable spells in England with
Tottenham in the 1980s.
Speaking about the event, club chairman, David
Byrne said: “On behalf of Hartstown-Huntstown
United, we are delighted to have the Legends come
across to help us in our fundraising efforts to build
the all-weather facility badly needed for the area.

“Our club are delighted to work with IAA and
we welcome the Legends to our community in
what we hope will be a marvellous weekend for
everybody.
“Not only is this match a fundraising day for
Irish Autism Action, but it will be a great day out
for any fan of the game.
“The games we organise are friendlies but we
always find that the competitive streak comes
out in the players as soon as they step foot on the
pitch.
“The Legends stars may be a bit older but they
haven’t lost their drive for winning or skill with the
ball, it’s just remarkable to watch.
“Any fan would enjoy a day like this! We are
delighted to be involved with Hartstown-Huntstown United FC and hope it will be a really successful event for them and the charities they are
fundraising for!”
John Aldridge has been busy putting together
a Legends side of footballing greats over the past
few months, and along with the latest Argentine

additions to the squad, fans can also expect to see
Liverpool legends Alan Kennedy, Gary Gillespie
and Paul Walsh as well as, Manchester United stars
including Clayton Blackmore, David May and Lee
Martin.
And former Irish striker Aldridge said he is
delighted with the players he has co-opted to play:
“I have to say this is one of the best squads I have
put together for the Legends so far, and with players like Ricky Villa and Ossie Ardiles on the lineup I have no doubt that we will be walking away
from Dalymount Park with smiles on our faces.
“Myself and the rest of the lads are really happy
to be involved in this event; the work Irish Autism
Action does is amazing and these charities need
our support. We hope that the fans will agree and
come out on May 21 and support us in raising
some money on the day!”
Match tickets cost €10 and can be purchased
from any club official or from Irish Autism Action.
Contact David Byrne for further information
0863727825.